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2007-10-16 issue:

Jordan’s Christians leave their country

Still, Mennonite Central Committee supports interfaith efforts in Jordan.

by Anna Groff

Print Article

The number of Christians in Jordan are few and perhaps decreasing, but interfaith conversations are still necessary, according to Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) staff.



Josh Weaver, left, and Jack Hijazin meet at the Mennonite Central Committee office in Amman, Jordan.

Five percent of Jordan is Christian (the rest Muslim), and that number includes Christian Iraqi refugees, says Jack Hijazin, who works for MCC in its Middle East headquarters in Amman, Jordan.

George Richert, MCC representative for the Middle East at the time of the interview in September, said, “Jordan is relatively free for interfaith dialogue.” He said he encourages MCC to prioritize that type of work in Jordan.

Hijazin said that for so many years, people in Jordan did not talk about interfaith issues, so many people are unprepared for potential faith tensions.

Unlike the heavily academic work of the Royal Institute for Interfaith Studies in Amman, MCC works to address interfaith issues in a more practical way. Few people read the materials from the institute, Hijazin said.

So, in a city in the North, Ajlun, MCC will fund a conference for the community planned by several priests for March or April of 2008.

The conference, for Christians and Muslims, will address the themes of the Amman Message, a statement issued in 2004 by King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein that calls for unity and tolerance in the Muslim world.

Pearl Richert, George’s spouse and another MCC representative, said an interfaith connection already existed in the community of Wahadneh, near Ajlun, between a priest and an iman (a Muslim priest).

For five years, MCC workers have worked with this priest, who wants to be a “voice of peace in the community” and has carried that out through creating a peace garden. He continues his work with this conference.

In Jordan, about half the Christians are Jordanian, and the other half are Iraqi. In fact, the Iraqi Christians could possibly outnumber the Jordanian Christians, says Hijazin.

There are approximately 750,000 refugees from Iraq living in Jordan, and some sources report closer to 1 million. The total population of Jordan is 5.8 million.

Even with the influx of Christians from Iraq, the Christians in Jordan decline, since many leave the country to work abroad.

George said he has not met a Christian who does not have a family member living in the United States or another country.

In a culture where clan and tradition is important to identity, many still choose to leave their family to work elsewhere.

For those that remain, and all Jordanian people, the Iraq war continues to burden their economy.

Housing and other costs of living have risen, but wages and supplies have remained the same, says Josh Weaver, one of the first two Service and Learning Together (SALT) volunteers for Jordan, who teaches English in Karak.

George said the money received from the United States, $5.75 million, is “not enough” for the Jordanian government and does not amount to what was requested for public assistance for the refugees.

Jordan does have a history of refugees. In an interview in September, Senator Akel E. Biltaji described Jordan as a “melting pot” for many tribes of the Arab world.

For example, more than 1.8 million Palestinians live in Jordan.

A country with no natural resources, Jordan relies on its tourism industry. Visitors can see Petra, an archaeological site named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, the Dead Sea and many biblical sites.

However, tourism depends on people continuing to come to Jordan, and the country remaining safe and neutral in the middle of many countries in turmoil, Weaver adds.

From the Amman headquarters, MCC continues projects in Iraq and aids “uprooted Iraqis,” Hijazin says. MCC prioritizes the people still living in Iraq, as they are the families with fewer resources to leave the country.

The first Iraqis who moved had money and resources, and many became successful with real estate in Jordan. However, the last wave is more desperate, says Hijazin.

The MCC Middle East office, which represents Jordan, Palestine, Iraq and Iran is going through leadership transition this fall.

In September, George and Pearl ended their positions, and Daryl and Cindy Byler begin their work as MCC regional co-representatives.

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